Flack & Angell A Real Date
by Runner043
Summary: This is the 3rd installment in my "Flack & Angell's First Dates" series. It comes after "Dutch & 3" and "Rest Your Wings"


Now that I've finished & posted "Flack & Angell's Valentine's Day" I'm back on track with the third installment of my "Flack & Angell; First Dates" series. So far the series looks like this:

Dutch & 3 Rest Your Wings A Real Date

In case you haven't figured it out, or if you're coming in mid-series, I'm taking it quite slowly with these two, building a nice solid relationship between them and making sure Flack sees a lot of things he needs to change that have earned him his 'womanizing' reputation. Jess has a lot in her past and is a very complex person, something they both need to figure out and deal with.

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"Ah, geez, Chebouski, you shouldn't have." Flack said with an obvious smirk and arms held wide open as Officer Chebouski headed his direction.

"Must be nice, ya know. We guys have to do all the work while the ladies just rake in." He said walking past Flack to set the vase on Angell's desk. "Ya know what I mean?" Flack just nodded. He did indeed know. "I mean, we have to sweat it out, figuring out how to ask 'em out and everything. Then if it all works out we're broke 'cause we're taking 'em to dinner, movies, buyin' flowers like this, an' what not. It's just not quite fair." Flack just nodded again, he was right, it really wasn't fair. He had used Angell's birthday to take her to dinner and wanted to ask her out again on a real date. He just hadn't gotten the opportunity yet, or actually the nerve up yet, and here she was getting flowers delivered from someone.

"Wait a minute," Flack said spinning around in his chair, "what do you mean? You're married, Chebouski."

"That's right." The older man said walking a few steps back towards Flack, "What? You think all this stops when you get married?" Flack just shrugged his shoulders with a confused look on his face. "All that stuff.... is just the beginning, man. Don't even get me started on anniversaries and Valentine's Day." Flack just laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Detective Angell stopped a few steps short of reaching her desk as she noticed the flowers. "Don't worry, there are no explosives hidden amongst the petals." Flack said sarcastically, "The bomb squad has already cleared it for you."

"Very funny, Flack." She replied, taking the card out to read before tucking it into her pocket. Taking a deep breath, Angell picked up the vase, walked over to Patterson's desk and set it down. Patterson looked up, but before he could ask, she said, "Here, take these home to your wife."

"Um,.... thanks." Was all he could get out before Angell cut him off.

"Don't ask." She said, waving a hand. "Let's just say that after delivering that nine pound son of yours, it's the least she deserves."

"Okay. Thanks, Angell." He offered as she walked back to her desk.

"Now I'm gonna assume that pushing out a nine pound bowling ball deserves some sort of award, but I'm pretty sure the guy that sent you those didn't intend for you to give them to Mrs. Patterson." Flack said.

"Mind your own business, Flack." She replied before walking away without making any eye contact.

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Two days later....

He was tall, dark, and handsome. He could even have been a taller version of Hawkes, or perhaps a cousin. And right now he was at the Precinct Desk asking officer Chebouski if Detective Angell was in.

"Did our perp give anything up?" Flack asked Angell as she stood by her desk looking for something. No response. "Angell?" He waited again, noticing the blank stare on her face and that she was looking in his direction but not quite at him. "Angell!" She startled out of her dazed state. "You okay?" She just nodded, fidgeting with the file she had picked up. "Are you finished with the interrogation? Did he give anything up?"

"No." Was all she said, quickly walking away in the direction of interrogation with the file.

Flack turned in his chair, hoping to see what had had her attention and also caused the color to drain from her face like that.

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The next day....

"I told you, cop, get me a car or your buddy here gets it!" The armed robber yelled to the captain as he held his gun to Flack's head. "I'm not gonna tell you again. You've got ten minutes, and not a second longer!"

"Is SWAT in position?" The captain radioed, "We're running out of time."

Meanwhile, on a nearby rooftop....

"Damn! The bolts are all lose." One SWAT guy said to the other, "It'll never hold, not even one of us." He added as they examined the rickety railing hanging over the edge of the rooftop. "And we don't have time to find a new location."

"It doesn't have to hold either one of you." Angell chimed in, taking in the situation. "All you two have to do is sit on this side of it. Come here." She ordered before they could ask what she was talking about. "Here," She began as she took one of the rifles, "both of you sit on this side and hold it down and steady for me. Very steady."

"For you?!" They both asked. "You're not trained to do this, Detective. You ca..."

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do right now." She cut them off, "Not when my partner has a gun held to his head by a panicky bank robber as we're running out of time." She just stared at them both as she put her head and one arm thru the strap, securing the weapon on her back. "Now sit down and hold this thing stead for me." Of course Angell did not want to think about what would happen if either one of them moved, even just a little, causing her to fall three stories, possibly to her death on the concrete below.

"You sure about this?" One of the SWAT guys asked grabbing her arm to look make her look him in the eye. She just nodded. "Alright. Just remember, you've only got one chance at this."

With the two agents sitting on the railing to hold it down and steady, Angell climbed out and over the edge of the roof, onto the part of the railing that was resting on the side of the building. She turned her back to the railing, took a deep breath, then lifted herself up onto it. After repositioning the rifle she hooked her legs through two of the bars and leaned back, with nothing but air underneath her. This was the only position that gave her a view around the corner of the building and a clear shot at the perp that held Flack.

Flack couldn't help but flinch as he herd the shot and the perp nearly took him to the ground with him. He just looked around, trying to determine where the shot had come from. Medics and more cops were at their side almost instantly as they secured the perp and checked both men for injuries.

"That was a good shot you got off, there, guys." The captain said as SWAT approached. But the guys just shook their heads.

"Nope, not us, Captain." They both said in unison, then turning around they indicated Angell as she walked over to Flack. "Seriously." Was all they said to him as they both just nodded.

'Now that's a lot better!' Flack thought to himself, comparing the image before him; the lovely Detective Angell walking his direction in high heeled booths, brown curls bouncing on her shoulders and carrying a rifle vs. that of the gun he had to his head previously. "Angell!" The Captain called, stopping her before she reached Flack. "SWAT just informed me that you took the shot."

"That's right, Captain." She replied.

"Angell?" Flack managed to ask. "You took the shot?" Although he was still processing the whole thing he still couldn't help but put a jab in there, "Took it a little close, didn't ya?"

She took two steps more to reach him and grabbed his chin, the tuned his face to first one side then the other. "You've still got both your ears. What're you complaining for?"

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Back at the precinct....

The whoops and hollers began as soon as Detective Angell entered the precinct. "That's enough, boys!" The captain yelled from his office door. Of course she just continued to ignore it like she always did. Being one of the few female detectives at the precinct meant having to put up with a lot of that kind of thing. Unfortunately. And with her assisting the SWAT team that day, it just exaggerated it all the more. Angell headed off to interrogation, Flack would join her as soon as he finished his call.

"Is Detective Angell in, please?" the man asked Officer Chebouski. Of course Flack was close enough to hear and headed over. Perhaps it was the same guy who sent the flowers. If so, he wanted to size up the competition. After all, he still hadn't asked Angell out, yet.

"Detective Angell is busy at the moment. Can I help you with something?" Flack offered, with an 'I'll take care of it' nod to Chebouski.

"Um, no. No thanks. Maybe I'll just wait for her." Said the tall slim man with a polite smile. He was good looking, Flack thought to himself, maybe good enough to offer him some real competition for that date he wanted with Angell.

"Should I tell her you're here?" Flack offered, but quickly kicked himself for doing so. He should have just walked away, letting the man set and wait, hoping Angell would never know he was there waiting for her.

"Sure, that'd be fine. Thank you. I'm her brother Jared." Flack immediately saw the resemblance. How could he have missed it before, he wondered to himself.

"Jared?" Flack turned around to see Angell coming into view. "Hi, I wasn't expecting you." She said with a hug.

"Hey, sis." He said, returning the hug.

"I see you've met my partner Detective Flack."

"Yes, he was just offering to let you know I was here. Listen, I got your message and had to come talk to you." He added stepping back, but held a hand to her arm. "Has he been here? Are you okay?"

"Um, Flack,... I'm finished with that interrogation now if you want to see the report, it's on my desk." She said, suddenly acting a but nervous and hoping he would leave.

"Right. I'll, um,.... " he stammered while starting to walk backwards. "Nice to meet you, Jared." Quick half-hearted introductions and goodbyes were done before Flack headed for his desk.

"Sorry, sis. I shouldn't have said that in front of him, huh?" Jared said, biting his lip a bit and feeling guilty. "I mean, I know how you are and..." She put up a hand and he let the words go unfinished.

"Detective Flack, Detective Angell?!" The captain yelled from his office door. Two leads had come in and he needed them to split up and check on both of them.

Flack was in line to pay for his latte at the Starbucks just down the block from the precinct before heading out to check on the lead when he noticed the guy two spots in front of him. It was Jared. "Excuse me," he said, tapping him on the shoulder, "I'm Det..."

"Detective Flack." He replied with a nod and a smile as he paid for his order.

"Yes." Flack nodded, "Mind if I talk to you for a minute?"

The two men sat at a table. "I'm not one for snooping into my co-workers private lives, so I'll just ask it this way..." Flack began, "Is there anything going on that I should know about? As Detective Angell's partner, I mean. Is there anything.... um, 'unsafe' going on? Dang, I'm just wanting to make sure...."

"It's okay." Jared said, holding a hand up and not letting the fumbling Flack finish. "I understand what you're asking." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "I hope not." He began, while looking at Flack with a straight face, "I'll put it that way. I'm going to go out on a limb here. If you know my sister at all, then you know she's a very private person." Flack nodded, he realized that. "She received a flower arrangement the other day," He began as he watched Flack nod at remembering the delivery. "They were from a guy named Hank. He and Jessica dated back in college. She'd just moved into the dorms, away from dad and all us brothers, ya know." He said with a slight laugh that Flack mimicked, only imagining what it must've been like for her, always under their over protective eyes. "Fortunately, it didn't take long for her to realize he was quite,.... um, 'controlling'. That he had quickly became sort of, possessive of her." He paused, took a deep breath and a moment to contemplate if he should continue, if he was doing the right think confiding in his sister's partner like this, then he did, "She ended it with him, of course, and shortly after realized she'd left one of her text books at his place, in the men's dorm. She called him, asked if she could stop by to get it, he said 'yes', she went over. He let her in, she walked over to the coffee table where the book was, then realized he was standing between her and the door. He didn't want her to leave, they had words, she tried going around the room, the couch and something, I think, to get a better path to the door." Jared paused, Flack kept quiet and waited. "He made his move towards her, she evaded him. She's a bit vague where this part of the story comes, but he ended up pinning her down on the kitchen floor. He towered over her, putting his fist down, hard, onto the floor, one on each side of her head, not hitting her, but acting like he was going to, or at least like he could have if he'd wanted to. Kind of threatening like that, ya know?" He looked up from his coffee to see Flack expression. He was mad just thinking about it all, but didn't say anything. "He told her that there was no way she was going to leave him. Anyway, a knock came at his door causing him to look up and raise up, so he was standing over her with a foot on each side of her waist." He paused and a smile came to his face, "Jessica, she's a fighter, ya know?" It was a rhetorical question. Flack knew she was a fighter, and a very good one, too. "She saw her opportunity, she pulled up her knees and planted both her feet right into his nuts. As hard and as fast as she could. Hank few back so far he hit the wall and slid down it. She took off running for the door. Never looked back." Both men just sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"So, the flowers? Were they from Hank?" Flack asked. Jared nodded. "Does he still have some sort of fixation with her?"

"We're not sure. Jessica called me after they arrived the other day. She wasn't sure why he'd sent them."

"There was a card. I saw her read it."

Jared nodded as he spoke, "She mentioned that. It just said, 'Time to say I'm sorry. Please forgive me.' So it doesn't sound like he's still obsessed with her, or even still angry."

"Angry?" Flack asked.

"Yeah." Jared continued, "After Jessica left his apartment, without the textbook she'd gone there for, she headed straight to class, where a female teacher noticed how upset she was. Jessica told her everything and was actually worried about the book, because it was quite expensive. Anyway, the teacher went with her to the dean and they set the guy up on some three-way call they recorded. So he ended up getting expelled and several other young women came forward with complaints about him as well."

"A good cop, even before becoming a cop." This made Flack smile. Jared nodded and smiled in agreement and Flack informed him of the tall black man who had been there asking for her. It was Hank. Both men agreed to keep quiet about this, but both also wanted to protect her.

"I'm telling you this, Detective Flack, because you're her partner. I'm her big brother, but I can't be there always to watch over her. She'll probably beat the crap out of me if she finds out I told you all of this, but, well, you need to know what's going on if he shows up."

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A few days later, at the precinct.....

"Dang! Angell workin' with the SWAT team again?!" The multiple calls came out as Flack & Angell walked into the bullpen.

"Get used to it, Detective Angell." The captain said, "You did an awesome job out there. And where did you get an aim like that?"

"I started young, sir." She replied, giving him a smirk, which he returned with a raised brow. "Bee-bee gun, sir. Four brothers, for targets." She slowly broke into a grinned and the captain burst into a laugh.

"So, what happened?" Several officers asked as they came closer to her desk.

"It's no big deal, guys." She said, attempting to wave them off.

"Detective Angell is being modest, guys." Flack said. "Let me tell it." He began, "Modesty has no place in this story." He tuned to face the guys as she rolled her eyes. "You're just gonna have to imagine this scenario.... the perp's running, a garbage truck is coming cross-ways from an alley, Angell's hanging off the side with her legs wrapped around the ladder with her out there in the air and she captures the guy in the rifle's scope. Perfect shot to the shoulder to take him down."

"What? You let him live, Angell?" Several chimed in.

"He can't serve time in a six-by-six cell if he's in a six-by-three coffin." She deadpanned without even looking up from her paperwork.

"Detective Angell!" Officer Chebouski called over. 'Saved by the bell' she thought to herself, rising from her desk.

Angell went over to the Precinct Desk and talked, from quite a distance, to the tall black man. He seemed to want to be closer to her, but she wasn't about to let that happen. Eventually they sat on the bench, several feet apart, talking for quite a while. When they both rose, he stepped forward as if to give her a hug, she stepped back and offered her hand instead.

"Everything okay?" Flack asked Angell as she sat at her desk.

"Yes, it is, Flack."

'Okay,' Flack thought to himself, she sure is being distant and evasive. He decided to try again. "Is that the guy that sent you the flowers?" He asked, hoping not to give too much away and cause Jared to end up with a black eye.

"Yes, it is, Flack." She repeated.

'Okay,' Flack thought to himself, still distant and evasive. "You about done with our paperwork?" She just nodded without breaking her gaze from her computer screen. "How about dinner?" She froze.

"Dinner?"

"Yeah, dinner. You know. It comes on these round things called plates and you use forks to put in in your mouth." He couldn't help but be sarcastic.

"Cute, Flack."

"So,.... dinner?" She looked like she was thinking about it. So he continued, "You, me, food. There's that new Italian place over on 185th. And I did tell you you'd have a reason to wear those pumps again."

"Oh, dinner. As in,..." She glanced around, "a date?" He nodded. "Oh, I see." She paused, "Okay."

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Flack pulled up in front of Angell's apartment building just before seven. 'At least this time she's not waiting out front' he thought to himself. He rang the bell, but was not quite prepared for when she answered.

"You okay, Flack?" She asked, since he was just staring at her as she locked her door.

"Wow." Was all he could manage for several moments. She didn't often have occasion to wear her hair up, which was a shame. The soft curls framed her face and the back of her neck, making Flack want to reach out and touch them, which he didn't dare. "Nice shoes." He said, breaking into a smile as he indicated the wine colored pumps she'd worn when he took her out on her birthday.

The restaurant was packed, but Flack had made a reservation and they were quickly seated in a surprisingly nice quiet spot. The candlelight set the perfect mood for the evening and the waiter poured the sparkling black cherry cider Flack had requested since they were both on-call. Angell balked at first, but was then surprised to find that it really did taste a lot like red wine.

As their dinner was served, Angell said, "I suppose you're still curious about the guy I was talking to earlier today." Flack started to shrug his shoulders since his mouth was full, but she continued, "Flack, you're a detective, so I know you're wanting to know." He just looked at her, letting her explain if she wanted. Plus, he figured the more she told him the less likely he would slip and she'd find out that he already knew part of it from her brother. "The flowers were from him. He was someone I knew from college, before the police academy. The long and short of it is,.... he was a jerk back then and has been in trouble with the law since then. Apparently some judge sent him to anger-management classes, where he did a one-eighty in his life. So, now he's going around trying to make amends to some of the people he's wronged."

"Sounds very noble."

"Yes, I suppose it is. He's getting married in a few months and wants to feel like he's got a clean start in every area." Flack was trying to pay attention to her words, but darn that candle light, it was dancing in her hair and eyes again. "So, who am I to hold someone back from a clean start in life. It's better to accept his apology than see him behind bars some day."

"True. But now you owe me one more explanation."

"I do?" Flack nodded. "What's that?" She asked with her brown scrunched trying to remember if she should be remembering something.

"You told me there's a story as to why you don't wear dresses." Flack reminded her, but quickly saw the smile on her face fade. "Oh, gee, Angell. I'm sorry. Um, forget about it. Really, it's..."

"No." Was the only word she needed to cut him off. "You're right. There is a story there." He started to speak again, but she raised her hand to stop him. "It's okay, Flack." Again, he started to speak, but stopped, "Flack, I said it's okay." He relaxed a bit and listed. "Obviously I was raised a tomboy. My mother always had a hard time with it. As you already know, I was expected to be the fifth son." Flack nodded, remembering the conversation from just before their previous dinner on her birthday. "Well, my mother took every opportunity she could come up with to get me into a dress. Fortunately for me, it didn't happen very often. The last time, her excuse was school pictures. I was nine and in fourth grade." Flack could see what he though were tears starting to form in her eyes and was glad when her next words were 'the long and short if it'. "The long and short if it is that my mother died that day. And you can't really explain to a nine year old about disassociation very well."

Flack nodded. "I'm sorry." It sounded so lame, he knew that. "You're right, most nine year olds wouldn't do that very well. Most adults either." She looked up at him, knowing he was right.

They quickly found more pleasant topics to carry them thru the rest of dinner and dessert.

They pulled up in front of Angell's apartment. "Wait here." Was all he said. Angell watched as Flack walked around the car, opened her door, and offered his hand. She took it, then swung her heels out onto the side walk. It was a moment of de ja vu for both of them.

The short walk to her steps was silent as both their minds were awhirl wondering about the ending of that awkward first date. Would they kiss? Would that be a good idea, and all those mentally torturous thoughts that plagued them both.

Angell lifted herself up on the first step and turned around to catch Flack just as he was looking up, and she quickly planted a kiss right on his mouth. It was a perfect kiss, not too brief and not overly passionate for a first kiss. As they each pulled away she spoke first, "I really hate that first kiss awkwardness. So I hope you don't mind my getting it out of the way."

He smiled and let out a bit of a laugh. "I don't mind at all." 


End file.
